Local rides 9,000 miles cross country

EXETER — Just two months before heading out on the road for a 65 day trip, covering 9,000 miles through 25 states, Ethan Martin had never rode a motorcycle.

Jennifer Feals

EXETER — Just two months before heading out on the road for a 65 day trip, covering 9,000 miles through 25 states, Ethan Martin had never rode a motorcycle.

But when the Exeter resident purchased a Honda Shadow, American Classic Edition, he wanted to have a reason.

"Whenever I'm working, I like to work for something, so I was thinking about what I could do with myself and this bike," Martin said. "I like to travel, so that's what came to mind."

On Thursday, Aug. 2, he headed out, with just a few items on his bike, from Salt Lake City to Seattle. He then traveled down the entire West Coast towards Georgia and "zig-zagged" up the East Coast before returning home to Exeter.

The route was designated by where he could stay with friends or family and avoiding major interstates and highways.

The first day of his two-month road trip, Martin travelled 600 miles. "That's a lot on a motorcycle," he laughed. "I would wake up in the morning and drive until night fall. If I didn't get to my destination, I'd find a campground or hotel to stay over, but most of my nights were spent with people I knew. I managed to visit all of my relatives except for one cousin."

Packed on his bike were a few changes of clothing, a rain suit, maintenance items for his bike and a camera. "All of that stuff was in my saddlebags," he said. "On the back seat of my bike I tied down my tent, sleeping pad, blanket, towel and a compact travel guitar that I played once in a while when I was camping and things like that."

Since he didn't keep much food on his bike, Martin said stopping at local places for a bite to eat was a great part of the trip.

"Part of what I enjoyed was stopping at random diners or wherever looked like a local eatery, preferably on some middle of nowhere road," he said. "That way I could get to meet some local people, eat food and have a rest from riding and figure out where I was on a map and whatnot."

Throughout his journey, Martin came across other bikers doing the same thing.

The prime spot was the Blue Ridge Parkway that travels from North Carolina to Virginia, he said.

"It's long, curvy, lots of trees and very scenic. Mostly a road made for travelling," Martin said. "I saw a lot of motorcyclists. It's one of the most famous roads for driving a motorcycle."

Another trip, possibly through the northern states, could be in the future for next summer. "I could see myself riding a motorcycle for the rest of my life now," he said. "I've got three out of four sides of the country done."

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